Interlude
by A. X. Zanier
Summary: Some new information comes to light about Alyx and why she's with the Agency.
1. Bitter Truths

  
Author: A. X. Zanier  
Rating: PG-13 (language, violence)  
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or basic story premises to 'The Invisible Man'. Any  
addidional charatcters or story premises are mine to do with as I please.   
Timeline: #4 Ten days after 'Into the Darkness' Original Post 10/18/2000   
yahoogroups.com/IMFanfic  
Spoilers: References to various eps. Nothing too specific.  
Comments: This is the updated and revised version.   
Thanks to Rebecca(WorkerCaste) my brave Beta reader.  
  
Interlude  
  
Okay this guy William James said, "Compared to what we ought to be, we are only half awake. We  
are making use of only a small part of our physical and mental resources. Stating the thing broadly,  
the human individual thus lives far within his limits. He possesses powers which he habitually fails  
to use."  
  
I watched what happened to Hobbes when he got the chance to use all his mental resources. It nearly  
killed him. Hell, look at me who's been given the chance to go beyond the norm. I haven't handled it  
all that well. Hate it most days.  
  
Can you imagine what it would do to someone who has taken a step beyond either of us? Someone for  
whom there are apparently no limits?  
  
I think there are limits for a reason.  
  
  
Alyx was rhythmically punching and kicking the bag in front of her to the bass beat pounding from  
her stereo. Sweat trickled down her sides and plastered her hair to her head. 'Just twenty more  
minutes,' she thought to herself, 'then I should be able to sleep. For a little while, anyway.'  
  
Switching from forward kicks to reverse kicks, she paused in mid motion.  
  
Balanced on one foot she listened, hoping she had been mistaken. The faint sound of her door buzzer  
could barely be heard over the music. 'Damn it. I like this song,' she thought. Reaching out with  
her mind, she lowered the volume as she crossed the room. She probed lightly at the person on the  
other side of the door. When she realized who it was, she sighed.  
  
Opening the door, she said, "What do you want Darien?" She had hoped he'd gotten the hint the last  
time he was here. Not to mention the fact that she'd been making a point of avoiding him the times  
she'd had to go into the office to see the Keeper.  
  
Darien was only somewhat surprised at her disheveled appearance. "Hello to you, too," he said with  
his patented 'get-the-girl-to-smile' grin.  
  
Alyx didn't respond.  
  
"Um... I was in the neighborhood and decided to stop by?"  
  
"Right. At midnight. Across town from your place. Try again?" she said dryly.  
  
"Look, can I come in?" he asked.  
  
"Why?" She was having enough problems without having to deal with him again.  
  
At this point he was ready to try anything. "Please?"  
  
With a sigh, Alyx stepped out of the doorway and gestured for him to enter.  
  
She watched him as he stood before her. His trim figure was encased in a bleached pair blue jeans  
and a white t-shirt, over which was his black leather jacket. He looked so comfortable, so casual  
with his hands stuffed into the jacket's pockets, that it irritated her. Shutting the door she  
repeated her original question. "What do you want, Darien?" she said wearily.  
  
He turned around and looked at her, really looked. What he saw shocked him. Before him stood a  
stunningly fragile doll of a woman whose eyes reflected more heartache than anyone deserved to  
experience. Her defiant posture was counter-pointed by the dark circles under her eyes. She was a  
lean as a jungle cat, having not a trace of visible fat on her. He realized she worked so hard, so  
long, so determinedly, because she had nothing else. This place and her work with the Agency were  
all she had, all that currently defined who she was. And she *did not want it*. Somehow he knew,  
knew, she could and would walk away from all of it if given a chance to.  
  
"I just thought you might like some company," he answered in a soft voice. "But I'll go. You're  
busy."  
  
With a sigh Alyx said, "No. It's okay." She pushed away from the door. "Have a seat. I'll attempt  
to get human." She pushed past him and headed for the bathroom. Fast as she could she stripped,  
tossing her clothes in the hamper before jumping into the shower. The cold water was refreshing  
against her skin. Moving with an economical swiftness she washed and rinsed, getting in and out in  
just over five minutes. She dried off and dug through her closet, deciding on a comfortable pair of  
sweats and tank top.  
  
She brushed out her hair and then twisted it up into a bun, which she held in place with a couple  
of chopsticks she kept lying around for just that purpose. She stared at her reflection once more,  
shocked at the child that stared back. This was one of those days when she knew she was losing  
herself. The person in her head could not accept the one reflected before her, and it left her soul  
torn. Forget who she was in favor of what she now had to be? Or hold on to the past, the life she  
had known and lived, and fail to go forward? She didn't want to do either, didn't want to be here  
at all. Today had been one of those days that just hurt. She shook herself.  
  
Now was not the time for this. Now she had to face the man in her living room. This was not going  
to be easy. For either of them, she suspected.  
  
Opening the door, she smiled when Darien started guiltily from his perusal of her CD collection.  
  
"See anything you like?" Alyx asked him.  
  
"I do now," he replied with a grin. That had not been part of the plan. She wasn't supposed to  
look stunning in a pair of sweats and a tank top. Even if she did still look achingly sad and  
exhausted. It was weird, but when he was near her intelligent thought just went right out the  
window.  
  
"Don't," Alyx said, moving to the kitchen. He was starting in with the comments already. Would he  
not get the hint? "Coffee?"  
  
"Sure." He watched in amusement at her method of making coffee. Although she carefully measured  
the beans by hand and placed them in the grinder, the beans weren't ground until she was filling  
the coffee pot with water, across the room. Gracefully, he moved closer to where she was and leaned  
against the counter beside her.  
  
Alyx locked her shields down tight, his presence a somewhat pleasant irritant. She got down mugs  
and arranged the spoons and sugar bowl neatly on the counter. Realizing she was avoiding him she  
placed her hands firmly on the counter before her, took a long deep breath and turned to face him.  
  
"Nervous?" He said with a knowing grin.  
  
She let out the breath with a laugh and smiled. "You wish."  
  
"Alyx, you don't have to hide all the time, you know," Darien said. "I mean, we're both stuck in  
the same boat. It might be easier if we were, I don't know, friends."  
  
"Friends, hmm... What kind of friends? The drink in the bar kind of friend or..." She sidled up to  
him a sultry look on her face. "Did you have something a bit friendlier in mind?" This was just  
plain stupid and she had no idea why she was doing it. Maybe she really needed to start trying to  
sleep instead of spending her nights fighting with herself. Maybe it was to prove that what she  
believed to be true was indeed correct.  
  
More than willing to take advantage of her sudden change of mood, even if he didn't understand it,  
he brushed his fingertips lightly across her shoulder. "Friendlier would be good," he said softly.  
  
The heat from Darien's hand was nearly painful and the anger that bubbled up within her at his  
answer was immediate. "Bastard," she snarled, jerking herself away from his touch. Blinded by her  
own anger, she stepped away violently and smashed her right side, bullet wound and all, into the  
counter. The pain was immediate and brilliant, sending bright red streamers of light behind her  
eyes. She cursed and backed away slowly until she came to rest against the counter behind her.  
Sliding down to the floor, she curled her legs into her chest and moaned.  
  
Feeling a combination of guilt, confusion, and anger, Darien walked over and crouched down next to  
her. "Alyx..."  
  
"Don't," she whimpered. "Just don't, please." He was one of 'them'. He was part of the reason she  
was stuck here now and his actions just reminded her of all that she had lost and all she did not  
want. And all that the Official was trying to do.  
  
Sitting back on his heels he watched her. "I didn't mean..."  
  
"Yes you did," she cut him off again. "Maybe you didn't plan it, not now anyway. But don't say you  
didn't intend to try."  
  
Rubbing the back of his neck in consternation, he said, "I'm sorry."  
  
Tipping her head back against the dishwasher door, tears sliding down her cheeks, she whispered "Ah  
gods, it just hurts so damn much." She hadn't meant to say that aloud, and Darien misinterpreted it  
anyway.  
  
'Hospital', Darien thought, standing quickly, 'Phone. Call the Keeper.' "Alyx where's your phone?  
Should I call Claire?"  
  
Blinking confusedly up at him she said. "W...What? Why would you call her?"  
  
"You said you were hurt..." He trailed off, realizing what she had meant. He wasn't sure what to  
say. He'd come over because he had been feeling a bit lonely and hadn't seen her in several days.  
He wanted to know how she was doing. Based on her reaction, not well at all. "I'm sorry."  
  
"For what? You thought you were helping." She had watched the emotions run across his face. Could  
feel them across her senses. Ever since the last time he'd been here she'd been more aware of him.  
A stray thought at the Keep and she'd know exactly where he was in the building, or if he was there  
at all. She'd been ignoring it as best she could, didn't need his emotions affecting her.  
  
Some days she regretted saving herself from him in that padded room, or on the road back from the  
one and only mission she'd been on. On several occasions she thought about how close she'd come to  
bleeding to death that day, and she'd been unable to find a reason to be glad she'd made it.  
  
Occasionally, she'd look into those brown eyes of Darien's and find herself wondering why she was  
fighting so damned much. But then she'd remember the memo she'd stumbled upon in the computer  
system. The one about breeding rats to be born with the ability to quicksilver. With that one bit  
of information, she lost the last bit of hope she'd had where this new life of hers was concerned.  
The one thing she did like about it was yanked right out from under her. Hell, this had to have  
been planned months ago. Alyx knew Darien had no knowledge of it, but that made it no easier to  
deal with. It just gave her another reason to push him away.  
  
Darien watched her as she got a hold of herself and sat down next to her, his arm just barely  
touching hers. He was pleased that she didn't move away. "Is there anything I can do to help?"  
  
"Not unless you can turn back the clock eight months or so and make it so none of this ever  
happened," Alyx replied, turning to look at him.  
  
"Sorry," he shrugged. "I could steal you something, though."  
  
That actually got a small laugh from her. "Sweet, but I don't think the boss would appreciate it."  
  
"Why are you here anyway? The Official is so cheap, I can't see him spending the money it must have  
cost to... to..." He wasn't quite sure of the word to use.  
  
"Create me?" she suggested and he nodded. "I was cheap compared to you. The difficult part was  
creating the Phase II serum without the original research. All told, getting me up and running cost  
less than ten million. Little over seven in fact." Alyx had done a little perusing of the Agency's  
computer mainframe and found all sorts of interesting tidbits to mull over. The security on the  
system was pitiful, government standard, but pitiful.  
  
That monetary amount rang a big bell with Darien. Ever since Chrysalis, Allianora, and the Official  
ran that little con on him he'd been wondering what had happened to that Chameleon reward. Now he  
knew, and she was sitting right beside him. He wondered how Hobbes would react to the knowledge.  
  
But why? Why would the Official bring in another 'super agent', to borrow Hobbes' term, when they  
could barely keep afloat with him? "I'm still in the dark as to why. Not that I expect you to  
know," he added quickly.  
  
"Don't be such a fool, Dare. I seriously doubt the Official would have had us work together if I  
had been male or ugly." Alyx sneered. Even she had spotted that right away.  
  
"All right, you've lost me," he said honestly.  
  
"Are you going to even try and claim you're not attracted to me? Hell, it's half the reason Hobbes  
doesn't like me." Her tone of voice was so bland Darien wasn't sure he wanted to answer her, at  
least not truthfully.  
  
He went with the 'answer with a question' route. "And if I was? Would that be such a bad thing?"  
  
Alyx sighed. "Well, it would be exactly what the Official wants."  
  
"How so?" he asked. For all that he was still working here at the Agency, he still had no real  
fondness for his boss or his situation, and much like Alyx he would change it in a heartbeat if  
given the chance. Until that miracle occurred, though, he knew he had a place to be, something he  
could live with doing, and friends he both liked and trusted.  
  
"Even if I were interested in you that way, which I have yet to decide, there's no way I'm going to  
be your little treat from the 'fish to keep you happy and thinking about something other than that  
gland in your head," Alyx said quietly. His confusion was obvious even without picking up his  
emotions. "Several months ago you bottomed out, didn't you? Lost hope?"  
  
He froze. "How could you know that?" Anger and indignation crept into his voice.  
  
"I stumbled across it in the computer system. I stopped reading as soon as I figured out what it  
was and who it was about, so I don't know the details. Just that you crashed big time and took off  
for a while." Alyx wasn't trying to excuse herself, just explaining. She could understand him not  
wanting to share a low point in his life.  
  
"And if I did?" Hey, there were still days he wondered why he hadn't just let it end then. But  
here he was, and now so was she. "What does any of that have to do with you?"  
  
"Do you really think they didn't know? That they weren't trying to come up with a way to keep you  
happy in your little cage?" Alyx paused and really looked at him. "You're an intelligent man,  
Dare; do you really think they didn't know a shiny new exercise wheel wouldn't cut it?"  
  
Darien looked stunned. Felt stunned.  
  
"You obviously didn't get involved with the Keeper, especially with Bobby mooning over her. They  
tossed you a toy that would not only distract you from your own problems but might actually get  
something for them in the long run." Alyx got to her feet slowly. Her side ached from whacking it  
into the counter edge, but after a moment to shift and stretch she was pleased that no real harm  
had been done.  
  
"When were you supposed to arrive out here?" His voice was full suspicion.  
  
"Near as I can tell, about six months ago, but they ran into a few problems." Alyx answered. She  
could feel his anger rise at her answer.  
  
His mind was doing some quick mental math. He had an approximate idea of when her troubles with  
Agency had begun and knew when he had become seriously unhappy here. He didn't like what it added  
up to. He swore under his breath. "They knew. He had this planned."  
  
"Probably." Alyx agreed. "There was some luck involved, but the last year or so has gone pretty  
much the way the 'fish wanted it to."  
  
Darien wanted to apologize to her. If he hadn't become so depressed, maybe they wouldn't have  
resorted to going after her just to make 'him' a bit happier. He did not want to be responsible for  
her indentured servitude as well as his own. "You don't have to stay, not for me." He shifted  
intending to get to his feet.  
  
"No insult intended, but there is no way I'd stay just for you. I have my own reasons for staying,  
even if I'm not very happy about them." Alyx shook her head to keep herself from laughing. He  
might be sweet and tempting, but he was not a reason to work for the Agency.  
  
"I think I should feel insulted," he said, smiling, as he got to his feet. She didn't really react.  
  
His mood sobered again. He was the reason she was here. He was the reason her life had been ripped  
to shreds. He was the reason she was so miserable. And here he was, standing in her kitchen making  
her explain what he'd been too blind to see for himself. It was little wonder she'd been pushing  
him away. He must remind her constantly of everything she had lost. "I better be going. I've caused  
enough havoc in your life."  
  
"Dare, I don't blame you," Alyx said, moving to block his exit for a moment, "but I won't just roll  
over and do what the Official wants, either." She reached out to touch his hand and they both  
received a small shock at the touch. "Damn. Sorry about that."  
  
"Guess I'll have to get used to that," Darien said, shifting his hand so that he lightly held hers.  
  
"No you won't." Alyx didn't try to free her hand, wanting the few moments of comfortable contact.  
"Except when we work together, I don't want to see you at all."  
  
He held her hand a bit tighter. "I don't believe that." He leaned down closer to her and lowered  
his voice. "I remember the kiss the last time I was here. You seemed to be enjoying it."  
  
"All the more reason to keep you away," she commented sadly. "Do you really want to prove the  
Official right? That a pretty new toy can buy your happiness?"  
  
That worked. Darien dropped her hand and backed away a step. "Work only."  
  
Alyx nodded.  
  
"I'd better be going, then." She shifted and let him by, following behind him to her door. "Good  
night, Alyx," he said as he stood in her open doorway.  
  
"Night, Dare." She slid the door shut and locked it. Gods, that was not fun, but it had gone far  
better than she had hoped and maybe, just maybe, it would actually work.  
  
  
  
Darien spent a restless night mulling over what Alyx had told him. He didn't know why, but he  
believed her. She could have made the whole thing up, but he didn't think so. He could see the  
Official doing exactly what she said he had done. Waving a shiny toy in the hopes of buying a few  
more days, weeks, months of cooperation from him.  
  
By the time he arrived at work the next morning he had a full head of steam and was ready to ream  
out both the Official and Eberts on behalf of Alyx. He slammed the door shut, fully prepared to  
scream about the unfair treatment of Alyx and himself. About how, no matter what they could do now  
or how much the Agency felt they owed to them, they deserved better. Neither of them were simple  
lab rats, experiments to be done and then examined piece by piece at a later date. He paused and  
then slumped into a chair. That was all they were to the Agency, rather expensive lab rats, that  
did their exercise wheel running at the Official's beck and call.  
  
The Official looked at Darien. "Amazing. And what brings you here at such an early hour?"  
  
"Why did you pair Alyx with me and Hobbes?" Darien asked.  
  
Eberts, who had been crossing the room behind the Official, stopped mid-stride and turned to look  
at Darien, his usual calm, bland look momentarily surprised. Then he regained his control and  
continued with his paper shuffling.  
  
"Why? Is there a problem?" the Official asked calmly.  
  
"Aside from the fact that she doesn't seem to like either of us, not really. It just seems odd. Do  
you really need both of our talents on the same cases? One invisible man is too much already,"  
Darien said in as bland a voice as he could manage.  
  
"I seem to recall it was Miss Silver who saved your butt on this last job," the Official was quick  
to point out.  
  
"Exactly my point. She could have handled that job with anyone. My talents were unnecessary. She'd  
make a great thief with her skills," Darien said, hiding a bit of a smile.  
  
The Official sat up straighter in his chair and said stiffly. "We have our reasons."  
  
"I'm sure you do." Darien said. "Perhaps you'd care to tell me them."  
  
"That would be need-to-know information," Eberts said in that slightly smug voice of his.  
  
Darien got to his feet, nodding. This was pretty much what he expected, the run-around. He paused  
when he opened the office door and looked back at the pair. "Well, then, some of us know more than  
we need to." He shut the door behind him, leaving the Official and Eberts rather stunned.  
  
The Official turned to Eberts. "We may have a problem."  
  
"Yes sir," Eberts agreed. "I warned you that someone had been in the secure files."  
  
"Eberts." The Official sounded irritated.  
  
"I know, sir, but if she has made the connection and told Mr. Fawkes, it could completely ruin your  
plans," Eberts continued, ignoring the Official's admonishment.  
  
"One problem at a time. First we have to solve Miss Silver's current problem, then we can worry  
about the long range plan." The Official didn't sound overly concerned. Almost like he knew  
something no one else did. Which was usually the case.  
  
"If you say so, sir," Eberts conceded and returned to his work.  
  
"Of course I do, Eberts."  
  
  
  
Darien went down to the Keep. Perhaps Claire knew something about this, although he really hoped  
not. Really hoped she hadn't been involved with this. Hoped she'd just gotten tagged with Keeper  
duties because she was here already and they didn't want to pay for another one.  
  
She was in looking over something on the computer and shaking her head. "It doesn't make any  
sense." she was muttering to herself.  
  
"Problem, Claire?" Darien moved to stand beside her, not really caring about the work she was  
doing.  
  
"Good morning Darien." The she paused. "You're early. Please don't tell me you need a shot?" She  
was looking at him in dismay.  
  
"No, just want some questions answered." He submitted to having his monitor checked so that she  
would believe him.  
  
"If I can. What is the problem?" She turned off the computer monitor, intending to return to the  
work later.  
  
"When did you find out about Alyx?" As good a place to start as any.  
  
"About a week after she arrived here. Why?" Claire looked just a touch confused.  
  
"Why is she here? And don't give me the 'need to know' or the 'we needed another agent' line. Both  
are so bullshit laden I'm surprised we've got no garden growing in here." You'd think he'd be used  
to the run-around by now, and in some ways he was, but he still didn't like it.  
  
Claire sighed, looking resigned. "You obviously found out something. Care to enlighten me?"  
  
"Not me, Alyx. It's put her even deeper into depression. You guys couldn't have screwed up worse  
than if you were starting over again with me." Darien sat down on a nearby chair. "You guys had to  
try and fix my life by screwing up someone else's."  
  
"Darien what are you talking about?" Claire was, for all appearances, completely in the dark.  
  
"Alyx has apparently been poking in the computer system when she's here and has found out a few  
things. Like why the Official had her brought in." Darien watched her and she paled slightly.  
  
Claire swore softly. "I should have guessed when parts of her medical files turned up missing."   
She rubbed her forehead for a moment. "Darien, don't believe everything you hear. Yes, the Official  
had some secondary motives to introduce the two of you when she turned out to be..."  
  
"Gorgeous?" Darien supplied and Claire nodded. "So it is true. Can't you fix her or something, so  
that she can go home?"  
  
"I'm afraid not. It's irreversible, and that's part of her problem." Claire said getting to her  
feet.  
  
"She's crashed fast, hasn't she?" Darien said half to himself.  
  
"Not really. Remember, although she's only been here about two months, she was elsewhere for over  
six. For her it's been almost a year." Claire walked across the room behind the glass screen, but  
Darien could still hear her. "I'd say she's right on schedule."  
  



	2. Separate Ways

  
  
Alyx stood in front of the building, staring at the door in the late morning sun. Stylish  
sunglasses covered tired bloodshot eyes. Her hair glowed like a sunset, falling in gently curling  
waves down her back. Her jeans and t-shirt were comfortably broken in and reflected her mood:  
black. She 'd had no sleep, having spent the night on the window ledge behind her bed staring out  
at a world she no longer felt a part of.  
  
When she did finally screw up the energy to head into work, it was without any enthusiasm at all.  
She could sense an impending attack of severe hypersensitivity and was doing her best to hold it  
off until she managed to get out of the Keep later this morning. As had often occurred lately;  
however, fate decreed otherwise.  
  
She was in the hallway outside the Keep when all of her senses went haywire. She backed into the  
wall and slid down it, trying to sort through the incoming signals. Her sense of touch was suddenly  
so strong she could almost taste the way the floor felt through the palm of her hand. She could  
smell everything that had happened in this hallway for the last week. Old cigarette smoke, perfume,  
ammonia and bleach, people--gods, dozens of them--some of whom she recognized, old stale paint in a  
variety of colors.  
  
She closed her eyes after her focus kept shifting from normal to super focused. She really didn't  
need to see every pock-mark and crater on the wall across from her. Being able to hear every  
individual breathing for on the three floors above her didn't help much either. Typing on  
keyboards, papers being shuffled, voices, dozens of them. On and on and on. It was too much all at  
once. Usually only one sense would do this at a time and that she could handle, but this, this was  
overwhelming and hurt almost as much as when she would lose her shielding and have a room full of  
people in her head.  
  
'Pattern.' she thought to herself. 'It's the same control, just over something new.'  
  
It was Darien who found her sitting in the hallway, hands over her ears, eyes closed, rocking back  
and forth, and looking very unhappy. He moved to her side, not entirely sure what to do. "Alyx?"  
  
She opened her eyes at his voice, somehow keeping herself from flinching away at its apparent  
volume. "Keep," she said, trying to focus on just one thing.  
  
When he reached out to touch her she did flinch away, violently, nearly ending up on her side on  
the floor.  
  
"Don't touch me. Just get the Keeper." She was nearly begging now.  
  
Darien didn't have to. Claire had heard just enough of what was going on and arrived in seconds  
with a syringe. She injected the contents into Alyx's arm quickly before she could react. Even so,  
the syringe ended up flying across the hallway to smash itself into the wall.  
  
"You know I hate shots." The effects of the drug were swift. It was like thick fog was placed  
between her mind and the rest of reality. All of her senses, while not returning to normal, dulled  
and became bearable. "Gods," Alyx whispered, the relief in her voice evident.  
  
"Why didn't you say anything to me?" the Keeper asked, helping Alyx to her feet. "I am your Keeper,  
you know."  
  
Alyx shrugged. "The truth? I didn't want to give you people any more control over me than you  
already have." She was feeling a bit off kilter. The drug seemed stronger than usual. It was  
variation of the inhibitor they had used to keep her powers from running wild without all the  
wonderful narcotics that had kept her docile. Drugs she'd become addicted to rather quickly. They  
had only needed to use this version a couple of times since she had arrived, thankfully.  
  
"Let's get you inside," Claire said. When Darien tried to help again, Alyx shifted away quickly.  
Claire couldn't help but notice and gave Darien a sympathetic look. She wasn't sure what was going  
on between the two of them, and right now she didn't have the time to figure it out.  
  
"Not more tests? All those wires. Stupid beeping monitors." Alyx's head spun. The drug was working  
overtime today.  
  
The Keeper supported Alyx through the doorway of the lab and Darien trailed along behind, feeling  
mildly upset and confused. Why was it only him she shoved away that hard?  
  
With help, Alyx managed to climb onto the exam table and groggily say, "What did you do? Up the  
dosage?"  
  
Attaching electrodes to the young woman's brow she replied. "No. Same dosage as always." She  
glanced over Alyx's slight frame. "You've lost more weight haven't you?"  
  
"You keep track of that, not me," was the irritated answer.  
  
"You don't eat, don't sleep. You can't sit still for five minutes, and you decide to develop new  
abilities without checking with me first." The Keeper admonished adjusting the monitors. "What am  
I supposed to do with you?"  
  
"You mean this isn't your life's goal?" Alyx sniped, jiggling the collection of wires hooked to her.  
  
Ignoring the jibe, the Keeper said. "Your readings are all out of whack. Relax and let's see if you  
can't give me a nice alpha wave."  
  
Growling under her breath, Alyx closed her eyes and did her best to comply.  
  
"See, I'm not the only one who's difficult," Darien stated sitting on a nearby chair. A large  
portion of their conversation had sounded very familiar to him.  
  
"She's got reasons to be difficult. The experiment didn't quite work as planned and she's stuck  
trying to deal with the results," was the Keeper's quick reply. "What they did was the equivalent  
of making her go through puberty and into adolescence all over again. She went from being a grown  
woman to a teenager, with all its attendant problems." She turned to him, "Do you remember what it  
was like, being sixteen?"  
  
"Hell, yes," he said, a grin spreading across his face at some of the memories the question  
triggered. Then more memories surfaced, less pleasant memories of what it had been like at that  
age, and his smile faded. "Oh."  
  
"Oh, indeed," the Keeper agreed.  
  
"So she's dealing with all that typical teenage crap along with the fun toys you guys gave her?"   
Darien asked with a smile. "No wonder she's in such a good mood all the time."  
  
"I am in the room you know," Alyx growled from the table. She finally had some measure of control  
thanks to the drugs and was not in the mood to be talked about while she was still within earshot.  
  
The Keeper looked at the monitors. "Better," she observed. "Now think you can tell me what is going  
on?"  
  
"Hypersensitivity. All my senses. I don't quite have control yet, so sometimes..." She shrugged.  
  
"How sensitive?" The Keeper asked, curious.  
  
"Extremely. I could probably tell you every chemical you've had open in here for the last month by  
the smell alone. I can read most print by feel. You really don't want to know about my hearing and  
sight." Alyx closed her eyes.  
  
"Yes I do," Claire said looking at the monitors.  
  
"How about I can see in almost pitch darkness? Can focus on items, oh, half a mile away, easy."   
Alyx sounded so tired, and not just because of the drugs.  
  
"I can vouch for that last one," Darien commented, remembering her little trick on their one  
mission together. "This is what happened at breakfast that day isn't it?"  
  
Alyx nodded. "My sense of smell went haywire."  
  
"Well, I'm not surprised. At least this explains why your test results have been so weird lately.  
Your brain has decided to change the rules yet again," Claire commented with no irritation. She  
actually found this rather fascinating. "You'll gain control, it'll just take time. When did this  
start anyway?"  
  
"Shortly before they transferred me out here, but they were keeping me so drugged, there wasn't  
much I could do about it." Alyx opened her eyes, finally having some sort of control over the  
situation.  
  
"Well, your life just keeps getting more and more interesting now doesn't it?" Claire commented.  
  
Alyx began yanking the electrodes from her skin. "I'll deal. Same as always." She started to get up  
and was gently pushed back.  
  
"Not yet, you don't. I want to check that hole in you while I have you here. Now, roll onto your  
side," the Keeper said firmly.  
  
Alyx grumbled but did as she was asked. With deft movements the Keeper slid up the shirt, removed  
the bandages, and gently examined the wounds. The damage left by the bullet was a hole the size of  
a quarter, both front and back, just above her right hip. The skin still had that raw look to it.  
The bruised area was about three times as large and still a deep purple color. Alyx held herself  
still doing her best not to flinch during the examination.  
  
Darien whistled. "Impressive." He remembered her hitting her counter edge last night and wondered  
how she could even walk.  
  
"Painful," Alyx replied with a sigh. She really didn't need to be reminded about it.  
  
"And healing quite well, I must say," the Keeper said as she began to apply new bandages to the  
wound. "And remarkably fast. If you have any scarring it should be minor."  
  
"What, no eternal, ass-saving, reminders? I'm disappointed," Alyx said sarcastically.  
  
"Perish the thought. Something so horrible would not dare to remain upon such fair flesh," Darien  
said with a flourish. Sometimes his mouth didn't ask his brain permission and just started to run  
on its own. The look Claire gave him was one of total astonishment, but it was Alyx's look that got  
his attention. Totally expressionless.  
  
"Don't start," Alyx said, her tone verging on anger. "Remember our discussion."  
  
Claire watched as Darien nodded stiffly, completely at a loss as to what was going on. The two of  
them had obviously talked about something, with the end result being something Darien was not  
overly happy with. Claire applied a new bandage, for the sole purpose of adding an extra layer of  
protection. The wound was actually healed enough to go without. "I'm putting you back on light  
duty," Claire said to her as she cleaned up from the examination. "No more lazing about your  
apartment."  
  
Alyx snorted. "Lazing about, right." Then she glanced at Darien and sighed. "Guess I should inform  
the boss. He must have something for me to do. Can't see him wasting a useful tool." With slumped  
shoulders she walked out of the lab.  
  
Claire turned to Darien. "You are going after her, aren't you?"  
  
Darien shook his head. "No. I'm not."  
  
  
  
Alyx quietly walked down the hall and knocked on the Official's office door. At the muffled "Come  
in," she opened the door and strode into the room.  
  
"Good of you to stop by. I have something to show you." the Official said waving to Eberts. After a  
moment of searching, Eberts picked up a file and handed it to her. Opening it, she found several  
slightly out-of-focus photos, obviously taken with a telephoto lens. She recognized not only the  
person in the photos but the location as well. As she looked through the dozen or so pictures she  
felt a growing dismay and anger.  
  
"Why? What do you want from me now?" She said trying to keep her voice calm. Was he going back on  
their deal already? Trying to squeeze her for something else? She felt herself sink even deeper  
into despair.  
  
"Those aren't our photos," the Official said. "We discovered those while investigating another  
matter."  
  
"So why show them to me? Sadistic pleasure?" Alyx commented, unable to keep an edge of anger out of  
her voice.  
  
"No," was the reply. "I thought it might make a good reminder of our agreement."  
  
"I haven't forgotten," she growled. How could she forget? It was the only reason she was still here.  
  
"Good. Keep it that way," the Official said in a cold voice.  
  
Eberts removed the file from Alyx's unresisting hold. "You're still on inactive duty till the  
Keeper clears you. Check in with her before you leave," he said in that perfectly calm voice of his.  
  
"Fine," Alyx replied as she turned to leave the room. It was obvious that the Keeper hadn't yet  
informed them of her upgrade to light duty, and she intended to take advantage of that lapse. Once  
outside the office door, her mask dropped. Anger and a bone-deep sadness washed across her  
features. Making a possibly foolish decision, Alyx bolted from the building.  
  
The Official turned to Eberts. "I think all the pieces will soon be in place."  
  
"Yes, sir," Eberts replied. The photos that were now spread across the desk looked eerily  
familiar; each and every was of Alyx's youngest child.  
  
She hadn't quite made it out the front door when Darien caught up with her. He'd been looking for  
Hobbes when he saw her running for the lobby of the building. "Alyx, what's wrong?"  
  
She didn't even glance his way and continued towards the exit. She didn't want anything or anyone  
to interfere, especially Darien.  
  
Running lightly, he caught up with her just inside the front door. "Hey," he repeated, adding a bit  
of force. "What's wrong?"  
  
She looked up at him, said, "Nothing," and tried to go past him.  
  
Darien didn't believe her for a second. Her face was dead pale and her eyes red and raw-looking.  
Grasping her lightly by her upper arm, he held her in place. "Right. What's wrong?"  
  
Jerking her arm from his grasp she growled, "I said 'Nothing.' Get out of my way."  
  
She shoved the door open and ran out into the sunlight. Darien followed and caught up with her  
again halfway down the block.  
  
Once again he grabbed her, this time spinning her around to face him, "What's going on Alyx?"  
  
"Let go of me," she growled at him. Now she was getting angry at him, too. Why wouldn't he get the  
hint? All she wanted was to be alone. Especially now.  
  
"Not until you tell me what's wrong," he said, seriously beginning to worry. He knew she was  
getting angry, but something must have set her off. He'd never seen her this upset, this lost.  
  
"None of your damn business," she shouted, trying to pull away.  
  
Darien just held on tighter, refusing to let her escape. He thought he was trying to help. He could  
tell something was seriously upsetting her.  
  
"I'm warning you, let go." Her voice had gone dead cold. She hated to do this, but it was looking  
like the only way he would get the hint.  
  
"Not until you talk," he said, getting a bit angry himself.  
  
Alyx pushed him with her mind, lifting him up and slamming him into the side of a nearby building.  
Holding him there, she let the quicksilver effect take over. When the world went monochrome, she  
bolted for her bicycle, which she no longer stored in the Keep. She did her best to avoid any and  
all contact these days and she had found a secure place to store her bike and gear just down the street.  
  
  
All Darien knew was that one moment he had been holding Alyx and the next he was seeing stars. His  
head ached from the impact with the wall. He looked down at Alyx, realizing he was hanging about  
five feet in the air. As the quicksilver began to coat her body, he struggled to get free and found  
he could move nothing. It was several minutes before he felt her grip loosen and dropped to the  
sidewalk. 'So that's what it feels like,' was all his stunned mind could come up with. Then, 'What  
the hell did they do to her now?'  
  
Heading back to the office, ignoring the headache the impact with the brick wall had caused, he  
found Hobbes looking for him. "C'mon, Fawkes, the boss wants to see us."  
  
Darien trailed along. He debated for an instant about asking Hobbes if he knew what might have set  
Alyx off, but realized with a sigh that Bobby wouldn't care. When they walked into the office, the  
Official had a smug little smile on his face.  
  
"Sit," he said to them.  
  
Darien and Hobbes looked at one another and then complied, each wondering what the Fat Man had for  
them this time. "Anything interesting?" Hobbes spoke for the two of them.  
  
"Interesting? Of course. Some poachers on protected land that you are going to go catch for us."   
The Official answered. "Not just interesting, but exciting."  
  
"So, what is it you sent Alyx to do?" Darien asked with a bit of suspicion.  
  
Hobbes groaned.  
  
"She's should be down with the Keeper. She's still on inactive duty," Eberts commented.  
  
"No she's not. Keeper cleared her for light duty a little while ago. Just before she went tearing  
out of here in fact. Didn't she tell you?" Darien had the feeling he was missing something and he  
didn't like it one bit.  
  
"It is none of your concern." The Official said in a tone that discouraged any argument. "Eberts."  
  
Eberts handed each of them a slim file.  
  
  
  
Alyx tore through her closet, packing a few days worth of clothes. Deal or no deal, she was going.  
Surveying her apartment for what might be the last time, Alyx closed the door with no regrets and  
headed for her car. The one she'd purchased just a few days ago for no obvious reason at the time,  
but now it was turning out to be a wise thing. She tossed her backpack and duffel bag into the  
older silver Jaguar convertible and climbed in. Thank god she knew how to drive a stick shift, even  
if it had been a while.  
  
She couldn't believe the gall of the man. To show her those photos and expect her to do nothing. He  
obviously was not going to hold up his end of the deal yet he expected her to keep her end of the  
agreement? The Official must be completely off his rocker if he thought that would happen. She  
might not be able to go back to who she was, but that didn't mean that wasn't where her heart and  
loyalty truly lay. She would do anything, and she did mean anything, to fix this situation. No cost  
would be too high.  
  
That didn't mean this didn't hurt. She hadn't wanted to do that to Darien, but she didn't want him  
to interfere either. This was going to get her into so much trouble with the Official and she  
didn't want to bring anyone else down with her. Reacting violently, the way she had, frightened  
her. She'd never been like that before. Protective, yes. Violent, no. Now she was more confused  
than ever.  
  
Alyx figured if she didn't sleep she could be there in two days, three tops. She hadn't gone to the  
airport, figuring that would be the first place they'd look for her. Once she had disabled the  
tracking device she had expected to find on the car, she started the engine and left. She knew she  
could lose herself in traffic. Soon she'd just be another vehicle driving towards the dawn.  
  
  
  
"You do realize this is just to distract us, don't you?" Darien said from the passenger seat where  
he was slumped down with a frown on his face.  
  
"What are you talking about, Fawkes?" Hobbes said as looked out the side window with the  
binoculars. The guys they were after were still in the cabin downhill from them, They had been  
there for hours. Even Hobbes was beginning to get bored.  
  
"We've been out here three days waiting for these guys to do something. You even had me check the  
place out, and unless they have a hidden room that they're keeping the bodies and the stuff to deal  
with them in, the boss has sent us on another snipe hunt." Darien was more than a little irritated.  
Claire had no idea where Alyx was and was becoming increasingly worried about her. Darien had even  
gone so far as to break into her place, and as near as he could tell she'd taken off with little or  
nothing.  
  
He'd confronted the Official, only to be told it was none of his concern, again. Which really  
ticked him off considering she'd been dumped in their laps as their partner. When he pointed this  
out to the Official, all Darien got was a glare and an order to get back to work on the poachers.  
Near as he and Hobbes could tell, the only thing these guys were guilty of poaching was eggs.  
  
"Fawkes, you're not going to start in about the kid again are you?" Hobbes groaned and looked at  
his partner.  
  
"Hobbes, give me a break. She hasn't been seen in days and she's supposed to be checking in with  
the Keep daily. Claire's worried about her, and the Official isn't." Darien looked at him. "You  
tell me what it means." He somehow kept his voice neutral throughout.  
  
"Why the hell do you care so damn much Fawkes?" Hobbes complained. He was just as happy to have  
her gone and didn't want to think about why. Didn't care why.  
  
Darien went for the only weapon he might have in this situation. "I thought Bobby Hobbes didn't  
bail on his partner?"  
  
"Of course not, Fawkes. I've stuck by you through all sorts of crap." Hobbes sounded almost  
offended by Darien's comment.  
  
"But not Alyx? Last time I checked she was 'our' partner." Darien kept his voice quiet. He wanted  
Hobbes to solve his problems with Alyx on his own as much as possible. If he couldn't be at least  
civil to her, they would have some serious problems when it came time to work together.  
  
Hobbes began to grumble and mutter to himself. "Damn it, Fawkes, that's not fair. I didn't ask for  
or want another partner. It took long enough to get used to you."  
  
"And how often to we get what we want working for the Agency?" Darien countered a bit ruefully.  
  
Hobbes snorted with laughter. "Try never. Oh..." He paused. "How much of this is about the fact  
you got a thing for her?"  
  
Darien considered the question seriously, and decided that his feelings for Alyx, no matter how  
vague and undefined at this point, didn't really make a difference. "Do you let how you feel about  
Claire interfere with work?"  
  
"Hell no." Hobbes let out before he could stop himself. "Not that there's anything there, mind  
you, but if there was, not that I'm admitting anything, 'cause there isn't, I wouldn't let it  
interfere with work." He finally wound down, hoping Fawkes understood what he was trying to say.  
  
"I think I can manage to do the same," Darien said quietly. He glanced out the window and whistled.  
"Our friends have company."  
  
"And here we were, talking about women. Damn it." Hobbes lifted the binoculars and focused on the  
new arrivals below them. "Fawkes, I understand what you're tying to say and if...when...when the  
kid gets back, I'll try and remember it."  
  
"Thanks, Bobby." Darien said. "Now what are our friends doing down there."  
  
Hobbes wasn't sure at first and refocused the glasses to make sure. "They're digging, from the  
looks of it. About a thirty feet west of the cabin." When one of them bent down and seemed to pull  
the ground open he swore under his breath. "No wonder you didn't find anything in the house. The  
hidden room was outside." He lowered the glasses. "Feel up to a little snooping?"  
  
"Always, my friend." He opened the door and slipped outside. Hobbes handed him a headset which he  
slipped in place.  
  
"Be careful." Hobbes said heading in back to the monitoring equipment.  
  
"Yeah, yeah." Darien ambled off, quicksilvering as he went. "Like I haven't done this before," he  
muttered into the headset.  
  
"Fawkes shut up and check the place out, would you." Hobbes sounded far more amused than angry.  
After all this time they knew each other pretty well, and trading banter at a time like this was  
pretty normal. Darien still wasn't a hundred percent comfortable doing this stuff, although he had  
gotten used to it as time passed.  
  
He made his way down past the cabin to the open door lying amongst the leaves and grass. It was  
designed along the lines of a storm cellar: a strong metal door with a concrete frame. Under the  
door, a dozen steps led down to a corridor about ten feet long. At the end, the passage opened out  
into an impressively sized room. Darien looked around, noticing all the gear, as well as the  
remains of several animals. That would indeed prove they were hunters at the very least. It was the  
other equipment, however, that really got his attention. Apparently the poachers had a side business  
as drug dealers. They apparently dealt in quantity as well as variety.  
  
Backing out of the room, he whispered into his headset. "We're gonna need back-up, Hobbes. They've  
got an entire pharmacy in here."  
  
"Fawkes, we don't have time to wait for back-up. You always claim to be so smart. Think of  
something," Hobbes snapped at him.  
  
Darien looked up the corridor towards the door and then back at the room. If he was lucky, they  
wouldn't notice until it was too late. Going back outside, he closed the door gently behind him and  
then walked over to one of the visitor's trucks and climbed inside.  
  
"What the hell are you doing Fawkes? We're supposed to catch them, not go for a joy ride," Hobbes  
complained at him.  
  
"I thought of something." With deft fingers, he pulled out the wire grouping he wanted and within  
moments had the engine of the truck started. Putting it into gear he drove the truck over to the  
closed door and parked one of the wheels on top of it. "Think that'll hold them till back-up  
arrives?" Darien climbed out of the truck and desilvered.  
  
"Fawkes, sometimes you're almost as smart as you think you are," Hobbes said with a laugh. The  
mirth was cut short by a gunshot coming from the house. "Ah, crap. I'm on my way, partner."  
  
Darien dove back behind the truck, hoping like hell Hobbes would hurry. There were times he really  
wished he carried a gun, and this happened to be one of them. He could hear the guys down in the  
storm cellar banging on the door, but unless they had one really strong son of a bitch in there,  
they were good and stuck.  
  
Hobbes made it down to the vehicles parked in front of the cabin and went into his routine.  
"Federal agent! Drop your weapon!"  
  
The answer was a couple of gunshots aimed in his direction.  
  
"What is it about the words 'federal agent' that inspires gunfire?" Hobbes muttered. "Last warning!  
Drop your weapon and surrender," Hobbes tried again and got pretty much the same response.  
  
Darien listened to the exchange and couldn't help but chuckle. Some days, no one listened to poor  
Bobby Hobbes. Checking his monitor, he decided he had more than enough time left to give Hobbes an  
assist. Quicksilvering, he headed around the back of the cabin, figuring he should be able to make  
his way in through there. He found a back window open and climbed inside, finding himself in a  
bedroom. Looking about, he found a rather ugly-looking lamp and picked it up. He quicksilvered it  
as well and made his way towards the front of the house.  
  
The guy wasn't hard to find, seeing as he was still taking potshots at Hobbes as well as muttering  
to himself. Darien walked up behind him and smashed the lamp into the back of his head, knocking  
him unconscious. Desilvering he knelt to make sure the guy would survive and picked up the gun.  
"It's clear Hobbes." He shouted out the window the guy had been shooting from.  
  
Hobbes cautiously made his way to the cabin and let himself in the front door, to find Fawkes  
standing in the center of the room holding the guy's rifle. "Took you long enough."  
  
"Yeah, well I thought you might want to have some of the fun." Darien commented with a wry smile.  
  
That's when the second guy came around the corner from the kitchen with his handgun aimed at Darien.  
  
"Fawkes, down." Hobbes shouted as he took aim and fired at the guy, even as the guy fired at  
Darien.  
  
Darien would swear later he felt the bullet pass right by him as he fell. Hobbes' aim was perfect,  
as always, and the guy, a kid of about sixteen as it turned out, dropped to the floor with a bullet  
buried in his shoulder. Hobbes kicked his gun away and immobilized him. He wasn't going anywhere.  
  
"Well, that was too close," Darien complained, getting to his feet.  
  
"You're not kidding," Hobbes commented as he came over and fingered the crease the bullet had made  
in the tan leather jacket Darien wore.  
  
"What?" Darien pulled off the jacket and looked at it. "Damn, and I like this jacket," he  
complained.  
  
"Better the jacket than you, buddy," Hobbes said as he pulled out his cell phone to call for a  
little help in bringing these guys in, as well as for an ambulance. It looked like the kid he'd  
shot was going to need one.  
  
  
  
A couple hours later Darien was sitting down in the Keep waiting as Claire prepared a shot of  
counteragent for him. He was looking at the jacket, fingering the lovely burn mark that marred the  
right shoulder. That one was too close. Made him kind of wish Alyx had been there with them. First  
off, she would have known there was someone else in the house, and second, he knew she was fully  
capable of stopping bullets in mid air. He didn't claim to understand how she did it, but he'd seen  
her do it with his own eyes.  
  
"Bit closer than you like, I imagine," Claire commented pointing at the jacket. She swabbed the  
crook of his elbow and injected him with the counteragent. For a change the initial pain wasn't  
nearly as bad as it sometimes was.  
  
"Have you heard anything?" he asked as she removed the needle.  
  
She shook her head. "And I don't like it." She walked over to the lab bench to take care of the  
syringe. "I can't even get the Official to tell me what's going on. Have you found out anything?"  
  
Darien sat up. "She didn't take much with her when she left. Maybe some clothes and that's all."  
  
"Darien, she wouldn't appreciate you going through her place," Claire admonished.  
  
"I know, but I was worried." Darien said trying to defend himself. "I'd do the same if it was you  
or Bobby."  
  
"An odd way to show you care, but the sentiment is greatly appreciated." Claire walked back over to  
him. "We know the Official is up to something, we just have to be patient. He's not likely to just  
let her wander off."  
  
Darien snorted. "You're right." He ran his hand through his hair, feeling tired.  
  
"Go home, Darien. I'll see you tomorrow," Claire said patting him on the arm.  
  
His slid off the chair. "Yeah, home." To his empty apartment, to worry about Alyx and exactly how  
close he came to taking a bullet today. And he really liked this jacket.  
  



	3. Lets Make A Deal

  
(Part 3 tidbit. St Mary's Church and school do exist in Newport, RI, however, I have fudged  
the details on the school to suit my fic. Interesting Info: John F. Kennedy married Jackie Bouvier  
at St. Mary's church.)  
  
Alyx made the trip in three days, then chose a nice hotel that overlooked the ocean. She stood at  
the window watching the deep gray Atlantic for a time, remembering. Of all the places in the world  
she had ever lived, this place, this town, was the one that her soul called home. Achingly tired,  
Alyx decided to shower before trying to sleep. Once clean, she collapsed onto the bed and after a  
few minutes of restless shifting she fell asleep. It was the first time in months she had truly  
slept.  
  
In the morning she went hunting. Some things had indeed changed in the years she had been away, but  
the places, the buildings that made this town what it was, had remained the same. The first place  
she went was the one she recognized in the background from several of the photos that had been  
taken. Actually, it was the uniform the child had been wearing that told her exactly where it was.  
St. Mary's Catholic School. Hard to believe her kids going to a Catholic school, but she knew the  
reputation of the place and had no real complaints. The kids would get an excellent education there.  
  
Once she found the spot the picture had been taken of, it became a matter of finding out where the  
picture had been taken from. Much more challenging; if a telephoto had been used, the photographer  
could have been a half mile away when he snapped the picture.  
  
It took an hour, but she was pretty sure she had the location. Then she went to work on the  
location of the next photo. She methodically worked her way through all the pictures until she had  
a good idea of the photographer's pattern. This took an entire day.  
  
The following day she was at it again, only this time she was looking for the photographers. It  
took three days, but eventually she figured out who the watchers were. It wasn't like she had a  
whole lot of experience at this spying game, so she faked her way through it and was impressed that  
she found them at all.  
  
She even caught them taking more photos of her youngest as she was dropped off at school. The child  
was so tiny and so sad looking that it made Alyx's heart ache. She wanted to run to her, hold her  
and tell her it would be all right, but she didn't. She couldn't. And she hated the whole world for  
it.  
  
Alyx had followed one of the photographers back to an old building down on the wharfs, one that had  
originally housed a fish processing plant. Nothing unusual for this town. Sneaking inside, she  
discovered in the building some rather advanced medical facilities, x-ray machines, CAT scan  
machine, MRI machine, all kinds of diagnostic equipment, and, most terrifying of all, toys. Toys  
appropriate for a small child.  
  
Anger and despair warred within her for a long moment and she was sorely tempted to destroy the  
place, but she suspected that wouldn't stop whoever these people were. They would simply set up  
shop again and return to whatever they were trying to do. Alyx still couldn't figure out what the  
hell they wanted with her kids. Between going through the facility and watching the photographers,  
she knew they were watching all of her kids, not just her youngest. Although her youngest was  
probably the most accessible because she was so young. The others were almost always with a group  
of friends, but the littlest one tended to keep to herself.  
  
At the hotel that night, she sat on the balcony watching the waves below, once again wishing that  
things were different. She could still be at home trying to deal with Jess and making sure the kids  
were happy and safe. Which had both its good points and bad. Dealing with Jess had been difficult  
at best, but the kids... the kids had been her life and she missed them terribly.  
  
She was still hiding from the world and some of the reasons were even still the same. This would  
have been so much easier if her 'accident' had been real. Of course, then she wouldn't be here  
arguing with herself about it, now would she?  
  
She couldn't go back, didn't want to go forward, and couldn't stay stuck in the middle for much  
longer without going completely off the deep end, or perhaps self-destructing. Which left her  
running around in that same circle of thoughts again. What was she going to do?  
  
The following morning she was outside the warehouse, watching, waiting. Adjusting the focus of her  
eyes she could just see through the cloudy windows. They were getting ready for something, no one  
had left to take up their usual posts for the day. With only the slightest hint of regret for what  
she was going to do, she walked up to the warehouse door and rang the buzzer.  
  
The door was yanked open by a huge man with a "Yeah."  
  
It took him a moment to notice her, way down below him like she was. "Waddayawant?" was his barely  
intelligible question.  
  
"Take me to your leader." Alyx said. Okay, she knew it was corny, but she was on the verge of  
despair and was desperately trying to lift her own spirits.  
  
"Getouttahere kid," he said, starting to close the door.  
  
"I really think he'll want to see me," Alyx said, reaching forward to touch the door. Quicksilver  
spread rapidly across its surface, turning it invisible. "Well?" Alyx asked.  
  
The big guy's mouth opened and closed like a fish. Alyx pushed past him and into the building. "Are  
you going to take me to him or do I find him myself?"  
  
The lunk swung the door shut with a bang, causing the quicksilver to burst off of it. "Yeah. The  
boss is gonna be thrilled to see you, kid."  
  
He escorted her across the floor and up towards some offices on the second floor. As hefty man  
opened the door a voice said, "What was it this time, Bob?"  
  
"Bob?" Alyx said. The guy seemed more like a Guido or Luigi to her.  
  
"Who is this?" The man said when he spotted her, a scowl appearing on his face. He was wearing a  
lab coat over a suit.  
  
"You're gonna want to talk to her boss," Bob said, this time managing not to string all his words  
together.  
  
The man really looked at her then, and his expression changed radically. The scowl vanished and a  
pleasant smile took its place. Coming out from behind the desk, he put out his hand in greeting. "I  
never thought... I had hoped but I truly never thought I would get to meet you Mrs....."  
  
"Miss. Silver." Alyx corrected, ignoring his outstretched hand.  
  
"Of course, I understand. Please sit," he said. "Bob, you can go. I believe I can handle it from  
here."  
  
Bob grunted. "If you're sure, boss."  
  
"I'm quite sure. Miss Silver and I are going to have a little talk," he said in a voice that made  
Alyx's skin crawl.  
  
Bob left, closing the door quietly behind him.  
  
"Please sit," he repeated as he walked back behind he desk and reclaimed his own seat. "You can  
call Mr. Smith."  
  
"As opposed to Jones or Doe," Alyx said, not moving. This guy, this Mr. Smith, just screamed 'big  
nasty' to her senses.  
  
"Actually, my name is indeed Smith." He said. "Others have found it somewhat amusing as well. Now  
what can I do for you?  
  
"I'm here to make a deal with you," Alyx said walking forward to lean her hands against his desk.  
  
Leaning back in his chair and steepling his hands together over his chest, he asked, "Deal? What  
could you possibly have that I might be interested in?"  
  
Alyx shook her head. "Mr. Smith, if you know who I am, then you know what I am. And you know who I  
work for." She moved and sat on the edge of his desk. "Now, if you're real lucky my boss hasn't  
sent anyone looking for me yet and they aren't outside this building preparing to come in and get  
me as we speak. However, if your karma is running in the red...." She shrugged. "Do you want to  
hear my offer or not?"  
  
He leaned forward hands coming to rest on the desktop. "If it's worth my time, I'll listen."  
  
"I think it will be." She paused. "First you call off the dogs; none of the kids get touched, ever.  
By you, whoever you work for, or anyone else. Even if that means you have to protect them. They get  
left 'alone'. To grow up without interference."  
  
"And if I say I don't know what you're talking about?" He asked eyebrows raising slightly.  
  
"Then I go to plan B and make sure you can't hurt them. By any means necessary." Alyx replied her  
voice flat.  
  
"I see. And what do we get out of this 'deal'?" Mr. Smith asked his voice gone tight with anger.  
  
"Didn't I mention...? Silly me," Alyx said her voice filled with a false lightness. "You get me."  
  
Mr. Smith looked surprised.  
  
"For two weeks," Alyx said. "You can run any reasonable tests you want. I've seen the equipment  
you have; there's not much you can't handle. I decide what's reasonable, and believe me when I say  
I know what is reasonable." She slid off the desk and backed up a few steps. "Do we have a deal?"  
  
"Two weeks, to check out your gift. I'm not sure that will be enough," he said with the voice of a  
snake oil salesman.  
  
Alyx decided to up the ante. "You mean gifts, don't you?"  
  
With a deep breath she lifted every piece of furniture in the room three feet off the ground  
including the chair Smith was sitting in. "Deal?"  
  
With a voice that sounded almost gleeful, he answered. "Oh, yes, Miss Silver. We most definitely  
have a deal."  
  
  
  
It had taken another week, this time with nothing but paperwork to do, before the Official asked to  
see them for a new assignment. All three of them, Claire included, were being sent to retrieve Alyx.  
  
"You knew where she was all along, didn't you?" Darien said with irritation creeping into his  
voice.  
  
"Fawkes, I've given you an assignment. I expect you to do it, not give me back-talk," the Official  
snapped at him.  
  
"He's not getting enough sleep again, sir," Hobbes tossed out, trying to cover for his friend.  
  
Darien got to his feet, not really giving a damn about whether or not the Official was pissed at  
him. As was usually the case, he felt like he was being used. But this time, he had a feeling Alyx  
was as well. "If it turns out you've set her up for something, I'd worry. I'm pretty sure she'll  
figure it out, and then she's very likely to come after you."  
  
"Fawkes, I wouldn't push your luck right now," the Official said, glaring up at him.  
  
"Fawkes, lets just go get her. You can fight with the boss about it when we get back," Hobbes said  
coming up beside Darien and resting a hand on his arm.  
  
Darien turned to him. "Yeah. You're right, Hobbes." He turned away from the desk and the two of  
them started across the room. "This isn't over," he said to the Official as he paused in the open  
doorway.  
  
"Come on, Fawkes," Hobbes complained.  
  
The Official glared at Darien until he finally left the room, shutting the door behind him.  
  
"Well, sir, it looks like part of your plan is working." Eberts commented from beside the desk.  
"Perhaps a bit too well?"  
  
"We'll have to wait and see. Even if he becomes a bit more loyal to her than the Agency, he can't  
go anywhere. We have the counteragent, and we have her." The Official said with no concern in his  
voice.  
  
"For now anyway." Eberts said quietly.  
  
  
  
If Darien had learned only one thing from his time with the Agency it was that spying involved vast  
amounts of hurry up and wait. If he wasn't bored to tears on a stake-out, he was being shot at by  
some perp who wanted no part of going in peacefully. For the third day in a row they were  
sitting in a cheap rental car watching a building. And Hobbes wouldn't let him sleep.  
  
"Gotta admit, the kid's pretty good. If we didn't know where she was staying I don't think we would  
have found her." Hobbes said lowering his binoculars. "I'd love to know how she managed to access  
her bank account without leaving a record."  
  
Darien sat slumped in the passenger seat, head tipped back, staring at the ceiling. "If she can  
hack into computer with her mind, why not an ATM?" he said drowsily. "I still say she'd make a  
great thief."  
  
"Nah." Hobbes commented. "Too honest."  
  
"You may be right about that," Darien chuckled sitting up straighter in his seat. "So what are we  
doing here?"  
  
"Watching that building." Hobbes answered.  
  
"Got that. Why?" Darien wasn't in the mood to think right now.  
  
"'Cause her car's parked around the back, as you would know if you had been awake this morning."   
Hobbes said dryly.  
  
"Well, what are we waiting for? I thought we were supposed to be bringing her back?" Darien asked.  
  
"We will," Hobbes answered, distracted. "Someone's coming out."  
  
It wasn't Alyx, just some guy who got into a dark green Taurus and drove off.  
  
"Something's up." Hobbes said.  
  
"How can you tell?" He looked in the direction of the building, seeing nothing unusual.  
  
"Trust me, I know. Something's about to go down."  
  
  
  
"We have a problem." Mr. Smith said to Alyx.  
  
She sat looking at him, waiting.  
  
"I'm afraid the two weeks you've offered us will not be enough. We are going to need quite a bit  
more time to understand everything." He moved to stand in front of her. "We're making arrangements  
for you to stay as our guest at a more advanced facility."  
  
"How stupid do you think I am?" she asked in a flat tone of voice.  
  
He slapped her across the face. "Very." His voice sounded different and she had a memory flash  
through her mind.  
  
She remembered being strapped down to a bed back in the original facility, having just woken up for  
the first time since she'd been kidnapped. She'd been so confused by the voices and emotions running  
through her head, but she still remembered.  
  
A voice had cut through the roaring in her head. "Use the inhibitor."  
  
She played the words over and over in her mind. The tone, the inflection, they were the same. She  
took care not to reveal that she had made the connection. "How did you find out about me?"  
  
Thrown by her abrupt change, of topic he answered. "A certain list came into our possession in  
regards to a project named Quicksilver. It was suggested that if the adults weren't available, that  
their children might be acceptable."  
  
Alyx thought for a moment. "So what exactly are you looking for?"  
  
"We want to know how you got your abilities. These examinations just aren't going to answer that  
question." Smith was no longer trying to be the sweet but oily person he'd been for the last  
several days. He wasn't getting what he wanted, so his true self was coming out.  
  
"Wrong project. The info on me was correct, obviously, but the rest...sorry, not me." Alyx  
shrugged. "You should have checked your source out better." She got to her feet, but he hit her  
again, knocking her back into the chair. With a calmness that belied the anger she felt, she wiped  
the blood away with the back of her hand. "But you already know that. I may not recognize your  
face, but I do recognize the voice. Guess I should thank you for improving my memory, among other  
things."  
  
Smith raised his hand to hit her again, but this time she blocked his arm and grabbed a hold of  
him. At the contact she caught a flash of what was in his mind. Not only had he never planned on  
letting her leave, he had sent 'Bob' to capture the prize that would keep her cooperation in his  
little endeavor.  
  
"You bastard. I warned you in the beginning." Alyx lashed out with her mind and pinned him to the  
wall. "I have a few other talents you seem to have forgotten about." She said with a dangerous  
smile on her face. Without finesse she entered his mind to find out what was going on and who he  
worked for. There was the Agency of course; he'd been the one to get her abilities working. Now,  
though, it was the CIA. They were tired of having to 'borrow' Darien when they needed him. They  
didn't like having to play 'Oliver' and say 'please sir can we have some more' to an Agency so much  
lower on the totem pole than themselves.  
  
Alyx tried to probe a bit deeper and came up with a name, Marcus Heilburg. It meant nothing to her,  
except that it was a wall. A rather impressive wall that she simply could not get past. She went  
rummaging about a bit more in the information and memories she could access, but didn't really find  
too much more of value. Mr. Heilburg here was a brilliant scientist, but he was also rather  
unscrupulous and would hire himself out to anyone who could use his talents. A year ago it was the  
Agency. Three months ago--the CIA, in hope of duplicating one of the quicksilver projects. He'd  
chosen hers because he had worked on her. It was the CIA who had discovered the information on the  
project that created her, not Heilburg himself, but he did not know where they found it.  
  
With a snarl, she pulled out of his mind and let him drop to the floor, where he lay moaning in  
pain. She had not been gentle with her intrusion or her exit, and part of her really didn't care if  
he survived the experience.  
  
"Be glad I let you live," she said in disgust.  
  
Ripping open the door with her mind, she let her tight control on her powers go, allowed her anger  
to take over. She was going to stop this here and now even if it meant she had to destroy both this  
place and herself to do it. Reaching out with her mind, she shut down the power to the entire  
building. She felt a backup generator try to kick on and she shut that down as well. Letting the  
quicksilver slide across her body, she disappeared and made her way through the various offices up  
on this level. She made sure to overload every computer she found using her electric discharges.  
  
The sounds of destruction were wonderful.  
  
  
  
Outside Hobbes listened to the sounds of destruction with a smug look on his face. "I told ya  
Fawkes. Didn't I tell ya?"  
  
He was placing the binoculars to his eyes when the green Taurus returned. The driver got out and  
went to the trunk. Opening it he lifted out a small child of about six. She was tied hand and foot  
and gagged but she immediately began to struggle and try to scream through the gag.  
  
Darien looked at the kid in consternation. She looked so familiar, but he wasn't quite sure why.  
"Aw, crap. He's got a kid."  
  
"Go," Hobbes said.  
  
And he was gone, literally, in a heartbeat. The only evidence of his leaving was the opening of the  
car door. Hobbes followed a moment later.  
  
The thug holding the kid heard the footsteps but saw no one before being hit. He dropped the kid as  
he went down. Reaching for his gun, he was shocked to see the kid apparently floating in the air.  
  
Darien, holding the terrified girl, kicked the gun out of the guy's hand. Bobby arrived then with  
his own gun drawn, ordering the goon to freeze. Darien set the little girl down and shook off the  
quicksilver as he squatted. As he removed the gag and began to untie her, she began to struggle.  
"It's okay, we're the good guys," he said, hoping to calm her.  
  
She stopped struggling but looked wary. "R... really?" she asked in a shaking voice which gave  
Darien the shivers. She sounded just like Alyx, just a couple of octaves higher.  
  
"Really, honey," he answered.  
  
"You know, my Mommy's just like you," she piped up.  
  
"What do you mean?" Darien asked.  
  
"Everyone said she died, but she didn't. She's just invisdible like you." She answered,  
mispronouncing the word.  
  
Hobbes had handcuffed the goon to the car and was looking towards the building where the sounds of  
destruction were on the increase.  
  
Darien scooped the girl up and looked at his partner. "Should we check it out?"  
  
"I think we better," Hobbes commented as alarms began to go off.  
  
Darien didn't want to leave the girl behind, so he carried her along, staying well behind Hobbes in  
case of trouble. The kid had already seen him invisible once, so he really didn't think it would  
matter all that much if he did it again. Hobbes was about to try the door when it burst open and a  
number of people ran out with looks of sheer terror on their faces.  
  
The little girl suddenly whispered to him. "She's really angry."  
  
  
  
Alyx made her way down stairs to where the testing equipment was set up. The goons that Heilburg  
had hired had their guns out and were looking for her. How convenient that they couldn't see her.  
Taking out those she had to and dodging the rest, she proceeded to annihilate the medical area.  
Within minutes there was nothing left worth salvaging. She made sure the alarms for the building  
came on; she wanted to attract as much attention as possible to this little operation of theirs  
and, if not shut them down, at least discourage them from ever trying something like this again.  
  
She was finished here. The place was completely destroyed; no information in the building had  
survived her wrath. Some information would have been sent elsewhere, she assumed, but she'd deal  
with that at another time. She was heading towards the main door when it opened and Hobbes and  
Darien walked inside. Darien was carrying a young child for some reason, and after a second Alyx  
recognized the girl.  
  
With a gasp of astonishment, Alyx felt the quicksilver drop from her body. The little girl began to  
squirm in Darien's arms and he set her down, only to watch her run across the floor of the warehouse  
to where Alyx had suddenly appeared.  
  
The girl stopped just a few feet in front of her, eyeing her critically.  
  
"Mommy?" she asked in a hushed voice. "Mommy is that you?" Reaching a decision she ran the last  
few steps and threw her arms about Alyx. "Oh Mommy! I told them you weren't dead. I told them you'd  
just gone invisdible. But they didn't believe me."  
  
Alyx stood there stunned. This had not been part of the plan. She had never intended for any of the  
kids to see her. For a minute she allowed herself to hug the child back and then gently pushed her  
away. She crouched down before the girl and looked at her. "I'm sorry, honey," Alyx said in a soft  
voice, trying to smile for the girl. "I'm not your Mommy."  
  
The little girl took a step back. "But you look like her. And you feel the same in my head. Well...  
almost. My Mommy wasn't so sad and angry."  
  
Alyx paused. Felt the same in her head? She probed a bit, and discovered the girl was indeed  
already mildly empathic. No wonder people were after her and the other kids.  
  
She had no choice; the only way to insure that they would remain safe would be to return to San  
Diego and hope the Official would continue his offer of protection for them.  
  
It took all her strength but she said to the girl. "I'm not honey, really."  
  
Tears began to well up in the girls eyes. "But, I miss my Mommy."  
  
"I know honey, believe me I know." Alyx wiped the tears from the girls cheeks. "There's something  
else I know."  
  
The girl raised her head and looked into Alyx's eyes. "What?" she sniffed.  
  
"Your Mommy will always be with you." Alyx placed her hand over the little one's heart. "In here."  
Then over her head. "And in here. And I promise you she loves you very much."  
  
"Really?" she asked a smile sneaking back across her face.  
  
"Really. I don't lie about things like that." Alyx stood. "How about we get you home?"  
  
"Yes, please." She answered. "You should be with Darien," she suddenly said, to everyone's  
surprise. "He disappears, just like you."  
  
Alyx laughed lightly and scooped up the girl and carried her over to her partners. "I'd ask why you  
guys are here, but I have the feeling I know the answer."  
  
"Like you'd have to guess, kid. The boss wants you back home," Hobbes said, not sounding nearly as  
gruff as he usually did. Alyx wondered what had happened.  
  
Sirens could be heard approaching in response to the alarms she had set off.  
  
"Can you handle this?" Alyx asked. "I just can't..."  
  
She was on the verge of tears, but it was Hobbes who answered. "Get out of here. We'll handle it."  
he said. "And we'll make sure she gets home safe and sound." he said forestalling her next question.  
  
"Thank you." Alyx said choking back tears. She handed the little girl over to Darien and then ran  
from the building.  
  
Once she was gone, the little girl spoke up again. "Mr. Darien?" the girl said.  
  
"Yes?" Darien asked as he turned to look at her.  
  
"Could you tell the nice lady that it's gonna be okay? She just needs to open her own heart again.  
Could you tell her that for me? Please?" The little girl spoke with such earnestness and such  
honesty that Darien promised he would.  
  
The next several hours were busy. The local police arrived, questions were asked and answered,  
arrests made, and the little girl was safely delivered to the arms of her father, who Darien made a  
point of not seeing other than to make sure the little one was safe.  
  
It wasn't until much later that Darien realized that he had never actually told the girl his name.  



	4. A Little Peace

  
  
It was nearly sunset when Darien finally found her. Alyx felt his presence long before hearing the  
rattling of pebbles as he climbed the rocks to the top of the cliff. She sat, legs drawn up to her  
chest, looking out over the water. Waves crashed into the base of the cliff a good fifty feet below.  
  
"You know, I grew up around here. Spent many a summer climbing these rocks," Alyx said as soon as  
Darien was within earshot.  
  
"You must have been nuts, then," Darien said from several feet behind her. He figured she probably  
still wanted him to keep his distance.  
  
Alyx laughed lightly. "Nah. I was just like any other kid." She turned her head slightly to look  
at him. "I believed I could fly." She turned back to look at the water. "Now I wonder if I really  
can."  
  
"Alyx, she asked me to tell you something." Darien said, knowing that Alyx would have no trouble  
figuring out who 'she' was."  
  
Alyx didn't move.  
  
"She said to tell the nice lady, 'It's gonna be okay. She just needs to open her own heart again.'"  
Darien said.  
  
Alyx stiffened.  
  
"Alyx? You okay?" he asked.  
  
She was silent for several very long minutes. "Not yet," she whispered. "But I'm starting to think  
I will be." She stood up and stretched. She'd been sitting on that damn rock for quite a while.  
For the first time in months, it seemed, she was able to find a bit of peace within herself, and it  
felt wonderful.  
  
Darien fought a sudden urge to yank her back from the edge of the cliff and stood perfectly still.  
As she turned around and stepped away from the edge, he let out the breath he hadn't known he'd  
been holding.  
  
"Ah, Dare. I'm not that far gone," she said as she walked over to him. "How angry are you?"  
  
He shook his head. He'd spent far too much time being worried that something had happened to her to  
even consider being angry. "You could have told us. We would have helped."  
  
It was her turn to shake her head. "I couldn't. By taking off I was breaking the deal I made with  
the Official. I fully expect to be tossed into the padded room when I get back."  
  
"So you are coming back." He sounded relieved. He'd realized while she was gone that he liked  
having her around. Even if she did keep him at arms length.  
  
She began to make her way down the rocks and back to her car. Darien trailed along, not quite sure  
what to make of her. She seemed a bit sad and tired, which was pretty normal for her, but she also  
seemed calm, which wasn't.  
  
When she reached her car she leaned against it and looked up at him. "How did you guys find me,  
anyway?"  
  
"The Official flew us out here and then we activated the tracking device on your car," he answered.  
  
"I disabled the tracking device," Alyx said.  
  
"Only one of them. The second doesn't have its own power source, so you didn't find it."  
  
She nodded absentmindedly. "Good idea. I didn't think of that. 'Course it won't work a second  
time." Then she stopped, her good mood evaporating as the meaning of his statement sank in. "What  
do you mean, he flew you out here?"  
  
"What I said. He handed us plane tickets and told us to find you." Darien replied, not quite  
understanding.  
  
"Ohhh! He is so dead," Alyx said with a snarl. "He used me. The bastard used me."  
  
"Alyx, what are you talking about?" Darien asked, taking a light hold on her arm.  
  
She just glared up at him and he let go. He was not in the mood to repeat his experience flying  
with a cliff nearby.  
  
"Stay away from me," she said, getting into her car. "All of you, just stay away." She revved the  
engine and pulled out with a shower of sand.  
  
Darien just watched her drive away. He wasn't quite sure what had just happened, but he could tell  
she was hiding back behind that mask again. For a few minutes there, he'd caught a glimpse behind  
it. Climbing into his car, he went to join Hobbes and Claire back at the hotel.  
  
  
  
Alyx checked out of the hotel and drove west. She definitely had a full mad on, but somewhere in  
the Midwest she stopped being angry and began to think. About the past. About the present. About  
the future. About a message from a small child.  
  
It was a completely different Alyx who walked into the Official's office several days later. Oh,  
she looked the same; hard, cold, and angry. But inside, she was changed. Calm, centered, at peace.  
  
Expecting the Official to be essentially alone, she was somewhat taken aback to find everyone in  
the room. Aside from Eberts, whom she expected, Hobbes, Darien, and the Keeper were also present.  
  
It didn't change her decision, however; she walked up to the Official's desk and snarled, "You used  
me, you bastard. Worse, you used her as bait." Alyx's fist clenched and everyone felt the atmosphere  
in the room change. The air somehow became heavier, the lighting darker. The window shades slammed  
shut, one after another.  
  
"Alyx..." The Keeper said warningly, fearing that she was about to lose control.  
  
"I will not be treated like that. And I will not allow you to treat them like that. We had a deal.  
You can argue all you want that I broke it, but you broke it first. And you did it in the lowest,  
nastiest way possible." Alyx paused, the window shades rattling against the glass in her anger.  
"You will make sure they are left alone, or I will do it. And I promise you I can," her voice had  
gone low and cold.  
  
Then the Official did something that surprised everyone in the room. He said, "I'm sorry."  
  
Alyx blinked. "What?" The shades stopped their erratic movement. "What did you say?"  
  
"I said. 'I'm sorry'," he repeated. "The situation went a bit further than we intended, but we had  
little choice."  
  
"Why? Why involve the children?" Alyx asked, her anger returning.  
  
"We hadn't intended to, but we had to make it believable for them. They had to be convinced you'd  
come on your own. Yes we used you, but it was only way we saw to stop them and keep our end of the  
deal with you." He leaned back. "Your kids will be safe enough now."  
  
Alyx stepped back a thoughtful expression on her face. "You're right," she said, "but I don't have  
to like it."  
  
"You're right, you don't. You just have to live with it. Think you can manage that?" The Official  
said a smile on his face.  
  
"That, I think I can manage," Alyx said "Finally."  
  
  
  
"You are in so much trouble, young lady," the Keeper said, smiling as she walked into her lab a few  
minutes later.  
  
Alyx sat on the exam table waiting patiently.  
  
"Running off like that. What were you thinking?" Claire admonished her kept.  
  
"I wasn't," Alyx said with a shrug. "Now, since I'm sure you want to torture me.... lets get it  
done."  
  
"Of course," the Keeper said, rolling over the monitors and beginning to attach the electrodes to  
Alyx. "Two weeks. I can't imagine what your readings will look like."  
  
Alyx said nothing, just shifted to a comfortable cross legged position on the table.  
  
"Okay, lets see a nice theta.... Hmmm." The Keeper looked from the monitor to Alyx and back again.  
A perfect theta wave arced gracefully across the screen. "How about an alpha?" The wave changed to  
an alpha.  
  
"Hi, guys. The boss decide to chew your asses off instead of mine?" Alyx said as Darien and Hobbes  
entered the lab and walked around the glass divider to check on her.  
  
"Hey, kid," Hobbes replied. "Nah."  
  
The Keeper noted that the wave form failed to change, remained perfectly steady. "How about a  
Beta?" She said.  
  
"Right. I could fake one for you. But you know that beta's are sleep cycle." Alyx said.  
  
"Yes, of course ." The Keeper said sounding distracted. "How's the hypersensitivity?"  
  
"Fine. No problems." Alyx answered.  
  
The Keeper threw her pen in the air. "Catch."  
  
The pen stopped at the top of its arc.  
  
"Any leakage? Picking up random thoughts and emotions?" Claire was beginning to suspect that Alyx  
had accomplished more on her trip than she was telling anyone.  
  
"None. Well, I still have touch problems, but I'll work on it," Alyx answered with a shrug. "I  
can't be perfect, now can I?"  
  
"You were in complete control upstairs, weren't you?" the Keeper asked.  
  
Alyx just smiled.  
  
"Why did you do it?" the Keeper asked curiously.  
  
Darien answered for her. "Atmosphere. Special effects."  
  
Alyx nodded.  
  
"Huh?" Hobbes said. "What for?"  
  
"I had to show him I was very serious. He doesn't have to know I did it under complete control,"  
Alyx answered. "Although, knowing him, he already does." She turned to the Keeper. "We done?"  
  
"Just about." She turned off the monitors and began removing the wires from Alyx. "I don't know how  
you did it, but you've mastered the control you needed." She rolled the monitors away. "You aren't  
going to have much need for me anymore."  
  
Alyx and unfolded her legs and slid off the table. She let the pen drop and caught it neatly.  
Handing it back to Claire she said. "Maybe not as a Keeper, but I could use a friend."  
  
Claire took the pen from Alyx with a smile.  
  
Alyx turned to face Darien and Hobbes. "That goes for you guys too. If you think you can put up  
with me."  
  
"I don't know kid. I was kinda getting used to your smart mouth," Hobbes commented. He had taken  
the time to think about what Darien had said, and had decided to at least give the kid a chance.  
  
"And what makes you think that's going to change?" Alyx said with a grin. "I've always had a smart  
mouth. Now, I can have one in fifteen different languages. Just think: bad puns in Russian, insults  
in Arabic, rude comments in Latin."  
  
"Enough, kid, I got it. Nothing's going to change," Hobbes said with a laugh. Maybe this would  
work after all.  
  
"Oh I don't know about that." Alyx said, turning to leave the Keep.  
  
"I'm not done with you yet." Claire said to Alyx. "Let me see that side of yours."  
  
Alyx pulled up her shirt to reveal her side. Claire pulled over a chair and sat down examining the  
wound.  
  
Hobbes cleared his throat loudly and turned away slightly.  
  
"Get over it, Hobbes. It's not like you haven't seen it before." Alyx said dryly.  
  
The bruise had faded to that nasty yellow and green and the wound itself was a pink circle of still  
raw looking skin.  
  
"Very good." The Keeper said. "How's the mobility?"  
  
"Still a little tight but I'm working on it. I didn't want to risk any internal tearing, so I went  
easy on the stretching until this last week." Alyx answered.  
  
"Perfect. Slowly work up to your normal routine over the course of another week and you should be  
fine. As of now, you are back on active duty." Claire said standing up. "Unless the Official has  
something for you, you can get out of here."  
  
Tucking her shirt back in Alyx said. "Cool. I'm gone. See you guys later."  
  
Once she was gone Darien asked, "Who was that? And what did she do with Alyx?" He leaned back  
against the edge of the Keepers desk and picked up the pen his partner had so casually floated in  
the air.  
  
"Apparently she found some kind of peace while she was gone," Claire answered, looking up at him.  
"Now let's see how you are doing today, shall we?"  
  
"Sure," he said distractedly, still fiddling with the pen.  
  
  
  
Alyx sat upright in startlement. Was that? The sound of her door buzzer going off again woke her  
completely and she hopped up off of the sofa. After checking who was on the far side of the door,  
she opened it. "Hey, Darien. Couldn't sleep again?"  
  
Darien had been expecting a brusque welcome like the last time. Instead, he got a sleepy smile. Her  
hair was tousled and she was absentmindedly rubbing her eyes. "I'm sorry. The lights were on so I  
assumed you were still awake. I'll go." He said turning to leave.  
  
She placed a delicate hand on his arm stopping him. "No problem. I must've dozed off during the  
news." She smiled. "Want to come in?"  
  
"If you're sure..." He didn't want to intrude. Didn't want to cause any more problems. She had  
said to stay away, but... Well he found he couldn't, didn't want to.  
  
She tugged on his arm pulling him through the doorway. "I'm sure."  
  
Closing door behind them Alyx asked, "Drink? Coffee? Coke? Sorry no beer in the house." She  
strode past him and into the kitchen. "What time is it anyway?"  
  
"Around one, I guess," he answered, completely thrown by her attitude. "All right, who are you?"  
  
Alyx turned from making some coffee to look at him. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Well, the last time I was here, you made some pretty definite statements about our relationship. I  
was not expecting such a warm welcome." Darien followed her into the kitchen and watched as she got  
the stuff out to make the coffee.  
  
"That was then." she said as she prepared the coffee. She felt him move up behind her but ignored  
him until she had the coffee actually brewing, then turned around to find him looking down at her.  
  
Darien reached out to brush a section of hair away from her face, expecting her to flinch away as  
always. Instead, she stood still, just looking at him. Completing the movement, he then lightly  
laid his hand against her cheek, cupping it gently. Much to his astonishment and pleasure, her eyes  
closed and for a moment she relaxed into his hand with a sigh. Then she moved his hand away with her  
own and opened her eyes.  
  
"Things haven't changed that much, Darien." She said quietly. "I still won't do this, no matter  
how much I may want to." She took a step away from him a sad smile on her face.  
  
Darien was stunned both by her reaction and what she had said. "Why not?"  
  
"I told you why the last time you were here." she replied lifting herself up to sit cross legged  
on a nearby counter. "My reasons still haven't changed."  
  
"Then I guess I should leave," he said. He was at least partially serious. He didn't care anymore  
why the Official brought her in.  
  
"Is that how it has to be, Darien, all or nothing?" Alyx asked sounding somewhat irritated. "I've  
known you for, what, two months, and you want me hop right on into bed with you? Even if it were  
love everlasting, I wouldn't do it." Alyx said spreading her arms wide. "In all likelihood we're  
going to be stuck working with each other for a long time. Could we figure out if we even like each  
other first?" She dropped her arms to rest her hands on the counter top.  
  
"And if I say I don't want to wait?" He had spent way more energy worrying about her than he  
should have. He just couldn't believe she still wanted to push him away.  
  
Alyx shrugged. "I go to the Official and tell him I won't work with you and probably get dumped to  
some other partner."  
  
Darien nodded tightly and turned to leave. So she was serious about this.  
  
Alyx slid off the counter and went after him. "Damn it, Darien. I won't let you manipulate me, too."  
  
He didn't stop, kept walking and slid open the door, only to have it wrenched out of his hand and  
slammed shut. The locks then engaged all by themselves.  
  
"Alyx..." he said warningly.  
  
"No!" she shouted. "For all I know I could just be some little-boy fantasy come true for you,  
legal jail bait, and you'd drop me as soon as you got bored and head for your next conquest. I've  
just managed to bring myself back from the edge of one hell of an abyss; I won't have you or anyone  
else shoving me back over it."  
  
Surprised at the vehemence in her voice, Darien turned to her. She looked unhappily back at him.  
"I...." She shook her head. "What do you want to hear, Darien? Because I truly don't know."  
  
Stuffing his hands into his coat pockets, he said in a low voice. "Is that how you think I see you?  
Some kid I can manipulate into bed for a cheap thrill? I think I should be insulted."  
  
Exasperated, Alyx replied. "I don't know Darien. How could I? I don't go prying in peoples minds  
for the fun of it. And your, our, partner never calls me anything but 'kid'. That's how the world  
sees me now; as either a child or a tool to be used when I'm convenient. I'm tired of being used.  
I've had a lifetime full of it already."  
  
"That's not how I see you. I certainly figured out you were anything but what you appeared at our  
first meeting." Darien said, relaxing somewhat. "I was rather pleased to find out you were indeed  
older than you looked. Shoot, you're downright old."  
  
For a moment Alyx was decidedly insulted, but then she saw the way he was looking at her and just  
said, "Jerk."  
  
"I think you've hurt my feelings." Darien took a few steps towards her.  
  
"Are you unsure that they're hurt, or are you just unsure you have feelings?" Alyx said with a  
smile.  
  
"Cruel, cruel woman." Darien said. "Where's that coffee?"  
  
Alyx laughed. "Coming right up."  
  
As she poured the coffee into mugs he placed his hands on her shoulders. She stiffened and  
carefully set down the coffee pot. Then much to his surprise relaxed back against him. "Now who's  
being cruel." she said softly. She turned in his grasp and lightly laid her head on his chest. "Oy,  
most definitely cruel."  
  
"Oy?" He laughed.  
  
"Yes, oy." She replied punching him lightly. "Do you want the coffee or not, ya lunk."  
  
"What's my option with not?" he asked with a throaty chuckle.  
  
"Gods, Darien, don't start this again," she said with a sigh, leaning against him again, her hands  
coming up to rest on his chest. Right now, right this moment, she no longer wanted to fight with  
him, no longer wanted to push him away.  
  
"Sorry," he said quietly. "Can't seem to stop myself." His hands came up to rest lightly on her  
back. "And you don't seem to want me to." He decided to take advantage of her current willingness,  
sliding his hands further up her back. She looked up at him and was about to say something, but he  
prevented her by the simple expedient of kissing her. He was pleasantly surprised when she didn't  
pull away and good lord he'd swear she was even sweeter than the last time.  
  
Alyx allowed herself this one last moment of weakness, wishing she could allow it to be more and  
knowing she dared not. For all that she was attracted to the man, part of her was still in too much  
pain and fear to let herself truly go. She couldn't yet bring herself to trust. Not even him. Her  
hands still on his chest she pushed him away from her. "You're right I don't really want you to,  
but I'll stop anyway."  
  
For one moment more she was still with him. Smiling slightly, almost smugly, up at him, then the  
mask dropped back in place and she closed herself off. It wasn't as harsh as before, but it was  
there, and although he didn't like it, he understood. They had both been used enough and she was  
not yet ready to be used yet again, even if it gained each of them some happiness.  
  
"All right. Friends?" he asked her.  
  
"Friends. Partners. That'll do for a start." She tipped her head to the side slightly. "I believe  
you requested coffee?" She turned around, picked up the mugs, and slid away from him.  
  
"You are going to drive me nuts." Darien said following her.  
  
"You mean you're not already?" she commented sitting on the sofa. She held one of the mugs up to  
him, but took her hand away before he was able to take a hold of it. Startled he reached out to  
catch it as it fell only to have it hang there waiting for him. Taking it in his hand he sat down.  
  
"Problem?" Alyx asked, failing to hide a laugh as she sipped her coffee.  
  
"I guess I'll have to get used to things like that." Darien laughed along with her. This felt  
nice. Kind of like when he'd hang out with Hobbes. Comfortable.  
  
"Only if you hang out around me. Oh wait, that's right, we're stuck working together," she said  
relaxing back into the cushions.  
  
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box, handing it to her. "Here."  
  
Alyx placed her mug on the coffee table in front of her and took the box out of his hand. "What's  
this?"  
  
Darien simply leaned back and sipped the coffee.  
  
Alyx opened the box and unfolding the tissue paper in confusion. Underneath she found a exquisite  
miniature sterling silver photo book. She looked up at him. "You didn't steal this did you?"  
  
"Open it."  
  
She did and what she found astonished her. Page after page were photos of her children, a dozen in  
all. "Where...? How...?"  
  
"I have my ways."  
  
"Thank you. You've no idea what this means to me," she said softly, and for a while the mask  
dropped again and stayed down.  
  
"Oh I think might," Darien replied.  
  
If you begin the day with love in your heart, peace in your nerves, and truth in your mind, you  
not only benefit by their presence but also bring them to others, to your family and friends, and  
to all those whose destiny draws across your path that day.  
  
I don't know who said that, but it's true, for her at least. Somewhere on her long drive home she  
had found the peace that had been eluding her, and it looked wonderful on her. She may have still  
been hiding behind that mask, but this one was for appearances only. There was no need to let the  
Official know that he had won; and he had. His little plan had indeed worked. I no longer felt  
alone and for all that I wanted no part of making the Official happy or right, I also wanted no  
part of things going back to the way they had been before.  
  
Maybe the two of us could find a peace of our own.  
  
Finis  
  



End file.
